Yeah, I thought of that, too. I was like, "heyy..."

Thought the same about that. Kinda odd.....

And although it took me a couple years to realize it, I think the Sopranos ending is the greatest TV scene in the history of the medium. I was pissed at the time, but eventually I came around.

We can just agree to disagree on that point. I think he chose the ending with a specific artistic purpose, and that it was perfect.

TV viewers are split on "ambiguous endings" - I personally prefer them because I like endings that invite me to ruminate about ideas after the final credits. Breaking Bad was one of the great TV shows of all time, and its ending checks all the anti-ambiguous boxes, "satisfying", "definitive", etc - but there was nothing particularly special or noteworthy about it. For me, that hurts it a bit, but other viewers are happy that the story they've invested so much time in is tidily wrapped up.

whats with the sopranos spoilers itt

I try to be understanding and not look down my artsy nose at people who need everything tidily wrapped up at the end, but man, this is Fargo. If you need definitive answers to all your questions you're definitely watching the wrong show. And if the surface level plot is the primary draw for you, you're really missing, like... a lot.

Varga I think is symbolic of the amoral powers-that-be behind the global financial system, who destroy lives, break laws, and kill people, all in the name of money - and always get away with it. That's why I don't think he ends up at Rikers. Varga knew he was not going to jail, because he knows how the system is set up. His side always wins. Gloria wants to believe that justice is possible, but I saw her smile at the end as more of a realization that, as much as she wants to make a difference, she can't (flashback to the robot from Ennis' book perhaps).

There was a brief scene mid-season about greedy traders, and the global financial collapse... scene seemed out of place at the time, but I think Varga and co. were symbols of the financial greed that caused the meltdown and caused such destruction. In real life none of the financial criminals were ever prosecuted... just like in Fargo, where Emmit committed massive financial fraud, but got just a slap on the wrist. He was living a nice comfortable life until Mr. Wrench showed up.

Was really hoping Nikki would live. I was not a fan of Mr. Wrench randomly showing up near season's end and killing Emmit. Also wasn't a fan of Nikki being killed by a random cop we had never seen before.

I'm still not sure that the final scene was meant to be something real, and not just an allegory using the characters.

Gloria talks about sending Varga to Rikers. OK, so she moved to New York? (not to mention that Rikers is not a federal facility)

Says she's going to go home and take her son (who is now at least 18) to The State Fair. OK, but the NY State Fair is in Syracuse, which is a 4 hour drive from wherever she is (I assume it's JFK, since Varga was allegedly on an international flight).

The room looks very dungeon-like, not like I'd expect a DHS interrogation room to look.

I liked the scene, but my first thought was this was either in Gloria's imagination or simply a narrative device.

Too deep for me.

I want to know why Gloria was typing out the "This is a true story" opening and leaving it around the office before she resigned.

Am I the only one who had to think of Obi Wan Kenobi when they saw the trench coat in the elevator?

I think moving the grate in the ceiling was misdirection and he did evaporate into thin air. That's what he meant at the end when he said, "I'm already gone" or whatever.

Gloria still lives in Minnesota , but flew in to NY to interview Varga , they kept in the airport holding overnight after he was recognized by face recognition software. She talk about amber waves of grain and deep fried snickers and pigs weight guesses, definitely a Mid west thing.

Marathoned this over the past couple of days. Fargo is a perfect marathon show so I always just let them accumulate on the DvR until the season is over.

I thought the season was very good but less than seasons 1 or 2. I believe if this were the first season it would have gotten much more praise. But it is very Fargoey and we have all been there and done that so the Fargoness doesn't have the same impact it initially did. Still better than almost anything else on TV though.

It followed the typical Fargo formula. Minnesota/Dakota dimwit does something stupid and nefarious. Ill planned cover ups ensue and things spiral deeper and deeper out of control. Tenacious and smart female law enforcement starts to unravel the mysteries of seemingly unconnected events. Lots of colorful characters.

Not sure where they can go from here though unless they break the formula and that might not work. But I will keep watching if they keep making them. This is top notch TV.

We missed two episodes while traveling. Watching them back to back felt borderline too much Fargo. Not a show to binge for me.
At least not in the near future. 2020 would be the earliest Noah Hawley could do according to his recent Deadline interview.

haven't had a chance to go back and check, but coworker says that the clock in the room passes several hours after Varga says within 5 minutes someone will come and rescue him. That's why Gloria smiles. Can anyone confirm/deny? Seems like someone would have mentioned it by now if that was the case.

I am still confused over the beginning and the guy being interviewed in east Germany. I thought that guy would show up later in the show in some capacity but that never happened from what I can tell. So either I am missing something or it was just a random scene. Good season overall, thought the cast was really good especially the guy who played Varga.

I think of the season opening scene and the season closing scene as sort of bookends pussy attitudes of interviewer and interviewee reversed.

In the opener, the man was clearly innocent (or at least believed himself to be innocent) but the Stasi had already decided on his guilt. This was effectively a death sentence, since the Stasi more or less acted with impunity and with little burden of proof required. In the closer, Varga knows that he is guilty of many horrible things but believes that either the state can't prove anything or that some high-ranking official will decline to prosecute him.

Opening scene was based on Kafka's The Trial and is really meant to set up the overall theme for the season I think.

I thing the woman who was the murder victim in that opening scene (Helga) appeared to Yuri, in that b&w vision he had in the bowling alley. I think the Ray Wise character said to Yuri, "I have a message from Helga Albrecht" or something like that.

My interpretation was that it somehow fit with the theme of reincarnation (they had already shown Ray reincarnated as a cat) - Yuri was an evil henchman who had killed innocent people, at many different points in history. In the opening sequence, they pin the murder of Helga on some dupe who clearly had nothing to do with it - the system is more powerful than one innocent man, to the the power of having the power to determine what the "truth" is. Regular, decent people are powerless against it.

Likewise Varga and co. are able to get away with all sorts of crimes both violent and financial... they are not even particularly quiet or careful about it, because in the end they know they cannot be stopped. Which is why Varga was so confident of his release in the final scene. Gloria represented the average decent person who keeps fighting, even though all their efforts may be useless in the end.

Pretty much what I said a few posts up when people were criticizing the show compared to Seasons 1 and 2. If this were Season 1 it would be a huge hit. Put Season 1 in this season's place and we're all experiencing Fargo hangover. Season 2 is unique and stands more alone. But you keep the Fargo themes and you end up with viewer weariness, and you try something totally out of theme and it's no longer Fargo.

The question you answered has been asked a lot ITT and on other forums I read. Of the different responses I've seen, I think yours is best.

Grunching to avoid spoilers - I'm only about 3 episodes in.

I loved seasons 1 and 2. Right up there at or near the top show of their year. And they were both great right from the start.

This season, 3 episodes in, and I'm not feeling it.

Was this season generally viewed as inferior to the first 2? Or does it pick up a bit as the season progresses.

Odds of me abandoning mid-way are pretty low, but it would be nice to know now whether I'm in for a bit of a long haul, or if I'm at the cusp of something cool to look forward to.

I thought it picked up but I never quite got into it like S1 and S2. Still better than most of what's on, def worth watching till the end.

S1 > S2 = S3

S3 definitly picks up after first 3 eps.

Vargo with the Emmy nod - good to see

lol no

Coons and McGregor nominated too.